Together, we’re getting drinking water from New York to families who have gone weeks without a reliable tap.
Puerto Rico is facing a severe water crisis
Puerto Rico is in a declared state of emergency. After the driest July recorded in San Juan in more than 120 years, more than 180,000 households across the city and six surrounding municipalities are living on rolling 48-hour water shutoffs. Some communities have gone more than 100 days without reliable running water. FEMA and the National Guard are involved, but demand continues to outpace supply. Hospitals, elderly residents, and children face the greatest risk as the shortage stretches on.
Afya is mobilizing an emergency water relief effort
At the request of the Governor’s Office of New York State, Afya is coordinating an emergency water relief effort for Puerto Rico. In collaboration with the City of Yonkers, and in partnership with Coca-Cola and other corporations that have committed to donating drinking water.
Afya and the City of Yonkers are also running a joint water collection drive, gathering bottled water directly from residents and businesses to add to the relief shipment.
More than 20 pallets are already packed and staged, ready to ship. On the ground, Afya is working with Accion Social de Puerto Rico — the same logistics partner Afya relied on during its Hurricane Maria response — to get water directly into the hands of the families who need it most.
Every family deserves a reliable tap.
Afya has spent nearly two decades turning surplus and donated supplies from New York into lifesaving relief for communities in crisis, from Hurricane Maria to public health emergencies around the world. This response draws on that same model and those same trusted partnerships to move quickly and get water where it’s needed most.
Support Afya’s Disaster Relief Fund
Your donation helps fund the transport, customs, and warehousing needed to move emergency drinking water from New York directly to communities in Puerto Rico facing this crisis. Because the water itself is donated, every dollar you give goes toward getting it there.
Partners
This response is made possible in collaboration with:
- Governor’s Office of New York State
- City of Yonkers and Mayor Mike Spano
- Accion Social de Puerto Rico
- Tapestry, Inc.
- Manhattan Beer Distributors
- Liberty Coca Cola Beverages of NY
- The Sanders Firm, Eric Sanders esq.
- Dos Maria’s Restaurant
- Aisling Irish Community & Cultural Center
- Westchester County Correction Officers Benevolent Association (Coba)
- John Rubbo
- YSE Foundation
- JetBlue